MBN Regional Networking Event (North) at Quartier des Serres

2024-02-14 15:08:56 • MBN

“Networking is a verb. You build a network by actively networking. Respect of people is the cornerstone of communication and networking.” – Susan Roane

 

Our networking event started with MBN CEO, Jackie Demetriou encouraging the attendees to form their unique strategy which will help them in getting the most out of their networking. The key point to remember is that while building relationships, mutual respect should be at the forefront.

 

The floor was then given to two members-speakers.

 

 

 ‘How to Experience Well-Being at Home’

 

Bintish Mowjsing, a consultant in Vastu Shastra – the Ancient Indian practices for architecture – shared about how a built environment affects human responses. The mission of The Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture, commonly known as ANFA is to promote and advance knowledge that links neuroscience research to a growing understanding of human responses to the built environment.

 

‘Promoting the use of neuro and cognitive science to better design the built environment.’ - ANFA

 

Bintish explained the use of conscious decisions in building the environment such as the placement of furniture and objects, the colours used, the position of the lights, and the use of specific metals as all these will contribute to a person’s current mood in that physical space.

 

How to improve well-being via the built environment?

TIP: Declutter the Northeast area of your house for clarity of mind.

 

How to find the Northeast area of your house?

Stand around the center of your house and identify the East (Where the sun rises) and the West (Where the sun sets). Thus, identify the North and South.

The Northeast is in the middle of the North and East of the house.

 

His additional tip: avoid using Red and Yellow as colours for this area. Red is reminiscent of fire and warmth which could ignite feelings of hot-temperament and irritability. Yellow is an ‘absorbing’ colour which could leave a person feeling lazy.

 

 

‘Security Safari: Navigating the Wild World of Cyber Safety in Just a Few Minutes with FABS!’

 

Karien Bornheim of Footprint Africa Business Solutions

 

Footprint Africa Business Solutions is over in several countries across Africa. FABS (Mauritius) is present on the island and the team is here to take care of the IT while you take care of your core work activities.

 

FABS:

1.     Look at what the current software and processes in place.

2.     Look at how the current IT tools could be used more effectively. FABS promotes the use of current software and products and does not push for the customer to buy other additional products unless the current ones are obsolete and need to be updated.

3.     Do a security assessment to evaluate the risks present.

4.     Provide the results and propose a plan of action, and if their services are retained, they will take care of the implementation of the plan.

 

FABS will assist in the restructuring of policies and procedures and/or offering the right training courses for a better IT system within the customer’s company. They also offer full-time IT management services, or as an alternative, offer bundles of hours to manage the IT.

 

FABS is dedicated to providing the best services possible, thus they collaborate with vendors of new products on the market and also collaborate with independent consultants based around the world to support in solving specific issues.

 

Karien shared about how crucial being cyber-secured is.

 

·       Passwords

 

She encouraged the audience to go on a secured website named: ‘Have I been pwnd?’ and to enter their email address in the search box to see if their data has been breached. She stated that if you are on social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn, there is a very high possibility that the data has indeed been breached. However, do not panic but change the password on the affected website.

 

Karien explained how easy it is to crack a password. She encouraged the audience not to click ‘Remind me later’ on websites (such as Google account) asking for additional security questions. While this process might be frustrating to some, it adds another layer of protection to your data. It should be noted that even 2 security questions might not be enough, but it is better to have them than not.

 

She urged the audience not to use one-word passwords such as the name of their pet or dates such as their birthday. To the men, she suggested not to use their car brand as a password, nor use the word ‘Password’ as one.

A one-sentence password as simple as ‘My name is _____!’ is safer to use than the above; favour one-sentence password.

 

Tip: Do not use the same password on all your platforms.

 

It is encouraged to check your emails on ‘Have I been pwnd?’ regularly and to change your passwords as well.

 

·       Backing up data

Backing up the data is not reserved only for big companies: SMEs and individuals need to back up their data as well.

She likened a bot to a tiny man running across the web to see where there is a hole. The bot is programmed as such and will not ‘care’ if the hole belongs to a big or small company. Once it sees a hole, it will notify the hacker to breach in. Their objective is to steal your data for a ransom and once your data is lost, it is too late.

Tip: Back up your data often. If you are using a hard drive to do so, do not keep the hard drive plugged into the computer – use it only when backing up.

·        Mobile Phone

If we take care to protect our work computers, we should also care for our own data. Our phone is a valuable source of data; one on which we have our email addresses, work-related and personal data, and which is so accessible to do our banking transactions, but are these data protected? Most of the audience’s data were not.

Tip: Protect yourself – your data and money by downloading an Antivirus on your mobile phone, even a free one.

Better safe than sorry; protect your data!

 

Last piece of advice from Karien:

“I count on you NOT to click on links!”

 

We wrapped up the event with a networking activity. Attendees were invited to keep networking with others while serving themselves to the refreshments available.

Remember: Keep networking!